Couldn't forget
by CherryAvenue
Summary: House still misses Cuddy, but after a while it turns out he's not the only one.
1. Give me a ride, baby

**I took a break from writing about House and Cuddy, but in the light of recent events I decided to write another story. It's nothing special, I'm not that good at this but I hope you'll at least enjoy the plot…**

Cars. Honking. Street lamps and their sharp light fading. People, walking to their cars to get to work. It's 6.30 in the morning. House just woke up in front of Cuddy's house. What a weird coincidence…

"House? What are doing here?" Cuddy asked when she saw him on her porch as she was closing the front door behind her.

"What?...ahhh, leave me alone I wanna sleep…" He grumpily answered.

"House…" And she gently touched his shoulder to wake him up. "Did you sleep here?" She said quietly.

"Kinda…" He answered with his eyes still closed.

"Why?"

"Well, I ran out of bourbon, so I went to a bar and when I was hammered enough so the bartender wouldn't let me have my keys, I got a taxi and apparently I told him the wrong address…" He said and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, get up…Find a taxi and go home." She said while helping him to stand up.

"Shouldn't I, like, I don't know, go to work?"

"You're completely hung over. I don't want you treating patients in this condition…" She said while they were walking to the road.

"Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?"

"Because If I said 'Get the hell out of my porch', you wouldn't go just to annoy me."

"Oh, now I get it. You're not helping me, you're helping your porch."

"Exactly." She answered and smiled a little.

"Can't you give me a ride? Why do I have to pay for the taxi? I paid for the bourbon, that should be enough…"

"I got an early meeting with the budget committee."

"Do you do anything else than meet with the budget committee? I bet this meeting is actually a party with liquor, strippers and a magician. And sorry that I have to break it to you but he didn't really saw that woman in half…"

"These meeting are important, even for you." He looked at her with a doubtful look.

"Okay, fine. I'll give you a ride but if come late and I miss the magician, you're fired." She joked and smiled at him.

She drove him to his apartment, helped him inside and left. House was all day at his place. At first he wanted to go to sleep. But for some reason he couldn't fall asleep. His mind was racing and he couldn't stop thinking about her. The way she acted today was strangely nice. They broke up months ago but there still was this weird tension whenever they were in the same room. Suddenly she was nice to him, she helped him, she took care of him. It was just like the good old times. _Why did this have to happen?_ He kept asking himself. _I was happy and screwed that up. I don't even deserve to be happy, or loved._ He was trying to get her out of his head but even though he didn't want to admit it, he still missed her. And it was nice to think about her. He thought of the days they lied together in bed and she was talking about work. And even though he usually didn't listen, he remembered a few of the things she said. He remembered how important those things were to her and how passionate she was about her job. He remembered how she'd kiss him when he showed some compassion. He thought of her for a while and he fell asleep.


	2. Screwed

House walked out of the elevator and went to his office. His team was already there, as usual and they were discussing a case they'd been working on since yesterday.

After they saw him inside, they started to ask where he was yesterday. The answer was always the same but they couldn't help but pry.

"Where were you yesterday? Cuddy said you weren't coming to work but she didn't give any reasons." Foreman started as he was the only one who wasn't scared of House.

"What I do in my free time is none of your business, honey. So what's new? Did anybody die while I was gone? Wait, I think I've already made this joke once. Whatever, it sill fits…"

"We got a patient with cancer, solved it, referred him to Wilson." Taub informed him.

"Just like any other day, you saved another life. And this is a great idea."

"What is a great idea?"

"To talk to Wilson about our, well, actually his patient…"

"I didn't say you should-" House didn't let Taub finish and walked out of the room.

"You know it was just an excuse to go talk to Wilson and to get out of the room, do you?"

Foreman asked mockingly.

Wilson was just looking into a patient's chart. But he couldn't concentrate on the patient right now. House didn't show up to work because he got drunk and went to Cuddy's house to beg her to take him back. He's not okay and not even Wilson can help him. Wilson doesn't like that…

"Hey, I heard you got a present from my department, a cancer patient." House said when he came into Wilson's office.

"And I heard you got drunk and went on a trip to Cuddyland. I also heard it was closed that day."

"Of course she told you. And why wouldn't she when you keep asking where I am every time I just want to take a break."

"Yes, you were just taking a break from the world. Look, I am going to ask you one more time and I hope this time you'll finally tell the truth: Are you okay?"

"I am going to answer you exactly like the other hundred times before: I am fine."

"Right, that's why you got massively drunk and passed out on Cuddy's porch, that's why you had to stay home yesterday with a hangover and that's also why your leg has been hurting like hell these past few months. You have to start dealing with this. And you should at least stop drinking for a while. It's enough you do drugs, you don't have to be an alcoholic too.¨

House got up and walked towards the door.

"House, wait, where are you going?"

"I was hoping you were done. You see my plan was that I'd come here, get it over with and listen to you yapping about my life and then I could enjoy the rest of the day without you lecturing me every time we bump into each other in the hallway."

"You have to deal with this Cuddy thing, if you keep doing this, you'll eventually destroy what's left of you…"

"Wouldn't that be nice…" House said while closing the door.

House went back to his office to take a nap. His ducklings didn't care. They got the day off.

After a few hours Cuddy was looking for him. And of course for the only possible reason. Clinic duty. She saw him in his office and she couldn't wait to yell at him.

"Get up sleeping beauty, you've got clinic duty." She said with a mildly angry tone.

"Oh really, or is that your evil plan to exterminate the human race? I bet it's the second one."

"House, I cannot do this all the time, you have to show up to clinic duty at least once in a while, it's a part of your job and I can't keep dumping your work on other doctors."

"Oh please, the clinic is not gonna fall apart without me…" He said while wanting to get out of the room and run away from her. But she stopped him and she looked more pissed than ever.

"I'm not going to take this crap from you all the time. I've had enough. The only thing I want from you is to go to the clinic and spend a few hours by wiping noses. It's not fun but at least nobody's gonna fire you." She almost whispered. Her voice gave out no emotions.

"You were so nice yesterday. Suddenly you're a bitch."

"Not surprised to hear it from you. I was always a bitch for you, weren't I?" She provoked him.

"What's that supposed to mean? I never said you were a bitch when we were together."

"You always think of me like that. You think of everyone as your bitches. When you call Wilson in the middle of the night that you're in trouble, he always comes to help you, when you pass out in front of someone's house, someone drives you home, when you don't show up for clinic duty, someone always finds a doctor to cover for you. Someone always cleans up your messes. And you know what? I'm sick of it, I've got my own problems and I want to have some time off once in a while too but because of you I can't, so either you get your ass to the clinic or you fired…" She said coldly.

"I think I'll rather let you fire me." He answered with an 'I don't give a crap' look and he went to the elevators.

"Okay." She said.

"We both know you won't fire me."

"And we both know you don't really want to leave."

"So, how are we gonna solve this little problem?"

"I guess you'll go to the clinic for only 4 hours."

"I hate you…" He said playfully.

"Yeah, right…" She said and walked away.

That phrase made House think about her again. She knew he wasn't over her. Well, the signs had been pretty clear. But what she said sounded like his feeling bothered her, like none of it mattered anymore, because the break up was a definitive end between them. And that's exactly what he didn't want to hear. He wanted to know it's not over yet. He wanted another chance once he'd get out of his self-destructive mood. _Once it passes, it'll all be fine. But how many more chances can I get? Did I waste all of them? And can I ever stop myself from being this guy? I've tried, I've failed. I am still a junkie, an alcoholic, a guy that makes all the problems around here. She may love me, but can she trust me? I don't even trust myself anymore._

These thoughts lead only to one possible: _I'm so screwed._


	3. Now, who's screwed more?

While House was thinking about Cuddy, Cuddy was thinking about him too. When she walked away from him that day, she felt awful about how she was treating him. At first she was really mad at him, but once she looks into his blue eyes, she sees all the pain and suffering that he'd experienced over the years. And not only with his leg. With his family, with Stacy and finally with herself too. _So many people went through his life, so many of them lost on the way. He had a great life in med school. He had friends, who knows how many girlfriends, he was well-known for his abilities to insult a person as soon as he walked into the room. And now? He has one friend, a few ex-girlfriends, and even though he's considered the best diagnostician in the country and still has his famous abilities, he's more miserable than ever._ _Is it my fault?_ She thought to herself. She partially knew it wasn't true, but sometimes you're just in the mood to blame yourself for everything. _Oh, god, I'm so screwed…_

After she finished all her work she went home. She wasn't really excited to go home. Rachel was with her grandma tonight, there was no one who'd wait up for her. No one like House.

She opened the door and went to the hallway. She took off her coat, hung it next to the door and went into the living room. It was late, it was dark, but she didn't turn on the lights. It used to be her way of coping with her childhood fear of the dark. But after a while she got used to it and she never turned on the lights in the house right after she got home. And it saved a couple bucks a month. She put her briefcase on her coffee table when she heard someone breathing in the room. She knew she wasn't alone. She turned around to turn on the lights but then she heard a very familiar voice.

"Not so fast, Lis."

"Lucas?" She couldn't believe her ears. She quickly turned on the lights. Her face became pale when she saw a gun sparkling in his hand.

"What did I tell you about the lights…well whatever. We'll have to turn them off sometime so the neighbors wouldn't think that something is going on. I was just worried about my eyesight. The light was pretty sharp at first."

"You're not here to talk to me about my lamps. Why are you here?"

"Oh, Lis. I'm not really here to talk to you either. Maybe a little. But that's not the main event tonight."

"What, you want to kill me?" She asked and tried to sound doubtful, but there was panic and fear in her voice.

"Actually yes. But I want to have some fun with you two first."

"Me and-?"

"House…"


	4. One call

Cuddy felt like she was about to pass out. _Kill House? Why? It's so long ago, how can he still be mad about that? _She never thought that Lucas is in love with her so deeply. She never thought that he would come back and want to hurt her or House. This Lucas? This good-hearted smart Lucas that she used to know? Can this be real?

"You're not still angry with me because I broke off our engagement, are you?"

"Yes, I actually am. You know, I gave you my love, my heart, I was nice to your daughter, I always stood beside you, I always helped you and your whole family liked me. How could you do this to me?'"

"Yes, you were a great boyfriend and I would've married you if-"

"If it weren't for House. If you weren't in love with him."

"I am so sorry…"

"Yeah, right…You were so glad to go to that bastard. You were so glad that he got to love you. Like what I had wasn't enough."

"If it helps, we broke up a few months ago."

"I know…And that's what made me angry the most. If you at least dumped me for a lasting relationship, for a true love, then I would've understood and maybe I'd be willing to let you off the hook, but no. You had to break up with him too. God! You don't even know how furious I am with you!" He yelled.

"Wait a minute, how did you know we broke up? Have you been following me?" She asked completely shocked by this realization.

"So I was following you, most guys do even worse things…"

"For how long?"

"Since we broke up."

"What? So you've been like taking pictures of me, watching me do my yoga and stuff?"

"Sadly, I caught you on top of him once. Don't worry, I turned off my camera before anything happened."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better." She answered sarcastically.

"I see you picked a few lines from him…Now enough chit-chat. Call him and tell him you want to see him." He said and handed her the cell phone.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to call him just so could kill both of us."

"If you call him, I'll spare your dear Rachel…"

"You son of a-" She screamed, but he pointed his gun at her head.

"Lis, calm down, nothing's gonna happen to her if you pick up the damn phone AND CALL HIM!" He yelled still pointing the gun at her head. She powerlessly picked up the phone and dialed House's cell phone number. She knew she couldn't stop him from hearing the ringtone but she wished with all heart that he was in a loud bar where he wouldn't hear a thing. But it felt like everything was against her. After a while she heard House's voice.

"What's up, Cuddy?" His voice was so calm that it was clear he didn't expect anything big tonight. He was so wrong.

"Ehmm…I need you to come to my house…" She said with tears rolling down her face and her voice fluctuating after every word.

"What's going on?" He asked concerned and his voice didn't sound so calm anymore.

"I just really need you to come, please…"

"Okay, fine, I'll be there in ten minutes…Bye."

"Bye…" She hung up the phone and looked at Lucas with her eyes wet from tears. "If you kill him…what'll happen to me and Rachel?"

"Where did you get the impression that I want to kill him?"

"So, you won't kill him?" She said and thought there was a little bit of hope left.

"No."He said and Cuddy started to smile. "I just want him to watch while I kill you…"


	5. Surprises

House came up to the front of Cuddy's house. He couldn't imagine why Cuddy would want to see him. He thought that something happened but he couldn't figure out why she'd call him and why she was sobbing on the phone. If something horrible happened, she'd have to call the ambulance, the police, anyone else, but why him?

He was on the porch and hesitated for a while. He wasn't sure if he wants to come in. _Cuddy needs me. I don't know but it has to be important. Can't screw her over this time!_

He knocked on the door and waited for her to open. When she did, he saw a woman with her eyes red from crying, her face pale and with an expression of guilt that she was trying to hide.

"Why did you call me?" He asked when she let him in. She didn't respond.

But he didn't need any explanation when he saw Lucas standing behind her with the gun still pointing at her head. "Oh, crap…" He muttered.

"I'm so sorry…" She said to him with another tear rolling down her face.

"What the hell, Lucas?" House went straight to the issue.

"Well, I just thought it would be great for us to get together and have some fun…And maybe you could steal my fiancée again!"

"That's why you're mad? This happened a year ago, how can you still be hung up on that?"

"Because unlike you, I loved her. And I still do!"

"And that's why you decided to kill her?"

"You know, the goal is not exactly killing her as much as hurting you."

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"

"Oh, no. If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!"

"I hate surprises. Why don't you tell me now?"

"Shut up and sit to the corner. Both of you…" He let go of Cuddy and she and House sat to the corner of the living room.

"You'll never get away with a murder. When they find out we're not at work, they'll come here and they'll find us and you'll be totally screwed!" She said.

"Now let grandpa tell you a little story. Once upon a time there was this smart private investigator. Women or men usually hired him to spy on their spouses. And he always told the truth, because he wanted to be loyal to his clients. But one day he found out that a certain politician was having an affair with another politician's daughter. And when he found out, he wanted to tell the politician's wife the truth. But instead he went to both politicians and he let them buy his silence with lots and lots of money. And then he realized that people pay a lot more for lies than for the truth. And that's how the private investigator became rich. And while he planned his little stunt with his ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend, he put all of his money on an off shore account. And before you know it, he'll be gone to Cuba, Mexico or Cayman Islands…And just so you know, people do anything for money, so you can be sure I'll get away with this."

"Sure, you're smart enough to do this. But the police are not stupid. I've learned that the hard way. They'll figure it out and they'll be looking for you. You do better if you'd just-" House couldn't finish because Lucas's phone started to ring.

"I have to take this, it's a client. Don't do anything stupid."

He picked up the phone and started talking.

House came closer to Cuddy, threw her his cell phone and whispered: "Text one of my team. They'll call the police."

She took it and put her hands behind the couch so Lucas wouldn't see them if he turned around. She typed in "held hostage at cuddy's, call 911" Clear and simple. Just when she pressed the 'send' button and the message was sent to Foreman who she thought of as liable, Lucas turned around and she quickly had to put the phone under the couch.

"So, that was one of my clients and he is very glad that his wife is not cheating on him with the pool boy. Unfortunately, he doesn't know I lied. His wife gave me twice as much as he gave me. Do I have the best job or what?"

"I wonder what happens when all of them find out you were lying and they'll take away your license and maybe some parts of your body…"

"That's not gonna happen, because once I'm done here, I'll fly away and no one will ever see me again in this dump…" Lucas stopped pacing around the room and look directly at them.

"So, I think we should get it over with…" He pointed the gun at Cuddy.

"Wait!" House yelled.

"What now?" Lucas said annoyed.

"This is so not something you can do just like that. If you want a real ritual murder, we need say goodbye…"

"I don't think so, you're just trying to delay this."

"Come on, we got the whole night, what have you got to lose?"

Lucas thought for a while in the silence.

"Okay, fine. If you two really want those last few minutes." He was looking at them.

"Give us some privacy, man. This is personal…" Lucas rolled his eyes and walked to the window.

House turned to Cuddy and while she expected a heart-breaking goodbye, he pulled her against him and whispered to her: "We have to keep doing this until the police get here. What does he want to do?"

Cuddy calmed down as soon as she realized that House hadn't given up yet.

"He said he wants to kill me first to hurt you and then kill you. If we escape and the police don't catch him, he'll hurt Rachel." She whispered to his ear while she was hugging him.

"Who did you send the text to?"

"Foreman."

"He always picks up. He probably already called them."

"House? If anything should happen to you or me-"

"Shut…up." He whispered and she smiled.


	6. I need the happy ending

It was about 9 o'clock and House and Cuddy were still sitting in the corner of the living room, only now with their hands tied behind their back with a string from Cuddy's shoes. The police were already there and they were trying to negotiate a release of the hostages. For them it was a routine. A thing they did every day without thinking about the impact it had on ordinary people. People surrounded the house, they discussed the situation and some of them got so worked up over it that they had to keep everyone behind a tape. It was something that doesn't happen every day in this neighborhood. It was even on the news.

The team was standing outside the house, looking into the window and worrying about what would happen next. Foreman was kind of proud of himself that they texted him, Chase kind of cared about House, but he'd bitch about someone dragging him from a date, Thirteen and Wilson were overly pessimistic and Taub didn't really care. He was glad he got out of the apartment once in a while.

"What do you think is going on in there?" Thirteen broke the silence.

"Whatever is it, it can't be good. I never thought it would go this far. How can Cuddy hold House a hostage?" Chase responded.

"You're kidding, right?" Foreman said and chuckled.

"You said, 'House is held hostage at Cuddy's'. The message isn't clear…So who's the one with the gun?"

"Cuddy's ex-boyfriend Lucas. Remember, the P.I. she was supposed to marry but she dumped him for House?" Wilson explained.

"Oh, I'd be mad about that…Do you think they'll get out of there? I mean, any other way that in plastic bags…"

"Well, I don't really believe in happy endings…" Thirteen said.

"Me neither." All Foreman, Wilson and Taub answered.

"But this happened before, right? That guy that came to the clinic and wanted to kill someone…"

"Yes, but he said he would kill someone unless House gives him a diagnosis. It was all in House's hands. This is different. Lucas doesn't want House's skills, he wants revenge. He wants to kill them both. This is so not gonna end well…"

Wilson said depressed.

Meanwhile, Lucas was freaking out about his current situation. Cuddy and House sat quietly in the corner while Lucas kept pointing his gun at them. This night was definitely going to be a long one.

"See, what you've done? You two screwed up everything!" Lucas yelled at them.

"Sorry for not sticking to your plan to murder us both." Cuddy responded.

"This plan no longer has any possibility of going well. The police know about you everything, they sit there and call you every few minutes, they're trying to make you release us. Wouldn't it be just easier to let us go? At least than you can enjoy your inmates banging you all the time in the shower for a significantly shorter time…" House uttered.

"You know what, shut up! I don't need your stupid tips, I just need to think. I'm gonna come up with something and until I do, you're staying here…"

Then the phone started to ring.

"It's probably the police, you should talk to them. Trust me, they're fun to chat with…"

"Shut up!" Lucas yelled and picked up the phone. While he was arguing with them for a while Cuddy and House started to plan again.

"I think I've untied the knot, my hands are free…" She whispered.

"Then go!"

"How? He'll shoot me."

"He's looking out of the window…Just go!"

"I can't leave you here…"

"He can't do anything to me if you're gone, we don't have much time, so get out of here!" She looked at him like he's crazy. But she decided to humor him, she stood up and ran out of the house while Lucas was yelling on the phone. The door slammed behind her and Lucas turned around in a shock.

Cuddy ran to the road to the police and the team including Wilson who were all camping out there and who were completely worked up over this event.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Wilson yelled when he saw Cuddy running towards them.

"I'm fine, but I need to talk to the ones who are in charge of this whole thing."

"One of the guys is right there next to the car. And they're all coming here to see if you're okay."

"Great…"

"So what's going on in there?"

"I'm not sure what he'll do to him…House made me run away, but I don't think he can…"

"But he has a plan or something, doesn't he?"

"I think so…He made me go because he thinks that without me there's really nothing much Lucas can do to him. But that's unfortunately not true, so..."

While Cuddy was talking to the police about the possibility of snipers, House and Lucas were engaged in a bit of an argument.

"She ran away…She ran away…You bastard…I'm gonna kill you now…" Lucas said, while freaking out and he pointed the gun right at House's head.

"Hey, you want to kill me and go to jail, without accomplishing your goal, fine with me. But I have to say, you really screwed this up."

"It's not my fault she escaped, you helped her!"

"But if you would've been thinking straight, you would've remembered to lock the doors. You would've brought your own cuffs instead of improvising with these strings, you wouldn't have let us to plan this, because you'd know! Do you see what this madness has turned you into?"

"You have to do something, he's gonna kill him!" Cuddy yelled at the sergeant.

"Ma'am, I told you we can only use snipers until we have a good angle. We don't want to shoot your guy."

"Screw you! If I can't hurt you, then I have to do something…" Lucas said. House's face was still but he was starting to fear the end of this night.

"We can do it now, I can see him…" One of the snipers said to the transmitter.

"Then do it." The sergeant answered.

"If I can't have her, you won't…" Lucas said and House, closing his eyes, expected it to be over…

Instead he heard a thud, like a body went down. He opened his eyes and saw Lucas lying on the floor with his eyes still open and his hand still holding the gun. His empty eyes sparkled in the moonlight that came through the window. House untied the string, grabbed his cane that lied near him and stood up. The police rushed in to check if Lucas was dead. House didn't mind them and he walked out of the door. Cuddy waited on the sidewalk for him to finally come out. When she saw him on the porch she smiled and went towards him.

"I thought he was going to pull the trigger…" She said with tears of happiness making their way down her face.

"I told you he wouldn't. I'm always right, aren't I?"

"Yeah, whatever…" She said and went closer to him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him like she'd never kissed him before. He returned the kiss of course and he put his arms around her.

The team watched this all with a slight amusement.

Foreman thought: "I could've stayed at home and watch TV and not sit around here, waiting for nothing…"

Chase thought: "What does she see in him?"

Taub thought: "Even this bastard gets love…" And went with Foreman to the car.

Wilson thought: "How does he do this?" And he smiled.

And Thirteen thought: "Now that's a happy ending…"


End file.
